Solace
by shadowblade-tara
Summary: A series of tags, in no order: Sometimes, it's only the fact that the other is holding on that keeps them going.
1. Dead of Knight

**Dead of Knight**

Kitt was out of jokes. Not even an extensive search of his databanks could provide him with more material, and he wasn't sure Michael would hear him if he could squeeze out another joke. Michael's breathing was turning ragged, and Kitt ran another medical check on his driver. The results were enough to send cold shivers through Kitt's CPU.

Michael should be dead by now. By all accounts, he shouldn't be breathing. A concentrated dose of the poison would kill so much faster than anything dissolved in a liquid and ingested, like what Cindy had received. His driver was, quite literally, living on willpower alone. It was up to Kitt to make sure Michael didn't give up.

The jokes were gone, but Kitt had to keep talking. He could feel Michael slipping away with every second he stayed silent.

"You can't give up." Kitt pleaded. "If you die, then where will Cindy be?" Not that Cindy had a better chance than Michael. She could already be dead. "You can't leave that poor girl with no one to protect her."

For the first time since Kitt had started the jokes, Michael spoke. His voice was rough, like his throat was raw and it hurt to speak. "Cindy . . . already gone."

Now that wouldn't do. That was the last thing Kitt wanted Michael thinking. "Have I ever lied to you? She's not dead, but she will be if you don't hang on!"

"Kitt . . . can't know."

Point. But still – "I'm not going to give you permission to die!" Kitt cried out. Pain lanced through him. "You wouldn't give up on me – I'm not going to give up on you." He fell silent for a moment. He took solace in Michael's ragged breathing. It wasn't much. "I can't lose you, Michael. You are everything to me. If you die – even if they did assign me a new driver – I would be alone."

Michael struggled to focus on Kitt. "Bonnie and Devon?"

"It's not the same." Kitt said quietly. "They know that."

For a moment, he was afraid he had lost Michael. The man stayed silent for so very long. Suddenly he shifted in his seat, pulling himself upright just as they pulled into the airport at 130 mph.

"I'm not going anywhere, Kitt." It was his first coherent, complete sentence, and Kitt felt relief flow through him. It was intoxicating. Michael would live. "Is that them? Did we make it?"

"Just in the nick of time, Michael." Kitt assured his driver. Just as the plane's wheels touched the tarmac. Just in the nick of time.


	2. Junk Yard Dog

**Junk Yard Dog**

"Michael! Help me!"

"Kitt!" Michael skid to a halt just inside the garage. There were no techs or mechanics present in the room. Not even Bonnie was in there. Michael had seen the hopelessness in her eyes w hen she called for a break. It was all he could do not to scream at her, to beg her to keep working. His own powerlessness washed over him, and his legs almost gave out. He hadn't been able to save Kitt. If it hadn't been for the reporter clinging to his arm, he would have jumped in and died as well.

Sometimes Michael wished he was invulnerable as well.

"Kitt, what's wrong?" He approached the car slowly, giving Kitt the chance to recognize he was there. Kitt didn't respond, but Michael thought he understood. He pulled up a chair and sat in front of the car, ignoring the tubes and wires that clung to his partner like a life-support system. "You know, nightmares are nothing to be ashamed of." he said quietly.

His partner didn't respond. Michael felt his eyes sting. This time, he didn't try to blink away the tears. Bonnie was right. Kitt was hiding.

"I think Bonnie's giving up on us, buddy." Michael whispered. He reached out and trailed his fingers across the prow of the car. Kitt's scanner flickered on, and Michael smiled a little. "I wish I knew how to do this stuff. Then it wouldn't matter if she stopped. I could finish it." slowly, the scanner began to track.

He held his breath.

"Don't cry."

If it wasn't for the slight tremor in Kitt's voice, something only his driver could have detected, Michael would never have realized just how scared Kitt was. "I'm entitled. My best friend is hurt, and there's nothing I can do about it. I couldn't even stop it." Michael said bitterly.

The scanner began to track a bit faster. "This isn't your fault." Kitt said firmly, his voice a little stronger. "Once the forklift had me, there wasn't anything either of us could do." Kitt fell silent again, but only for a moment. "Please, don't cry."

Michael seemed to smile at that. He'd gotten Kitt to talk. It wasn't much, but it was progress, and Michael would take whatever he could get. He wanted his partner back. He wiped at his eyes, trying to stem the tears that had been threatening to fall since he watched Kitt get dumped in the pit. "It won't happen again, Kitt. I promise you, no one will hurt you like that again. Not if I can help it."

Kitt hesitated, but his voice was warm with affection when he spoke. "I believe you."

And Michael took solace in that.


	3. Scent of Roses

**Scent of Roses**

Bonnie didn't understand much about Michael and Kitt's relationship. She knew they cared for each other more than Devon or anyone else probably knew. So it didn't surprise her to find Kitt once again parked in the hospital lot, refusing to move. She worried about it, but she didn't question it. Right now she stood in front of the Trans-Am, trying not to look like she was losing an argument with a piece of machinery. Still, she was drawing looks. "Please, Kitt. There's nothing you can do here."

"I'm not leaving." Kitt said sullenly.

Bonnie sighed. "When has sticking around ever provided you with something to do?" she demanded. Kitt didn't answer, not immediately. His voice was quiet when he did.

"I want to be here when Michael wakes up."

She felt her heart break. "Kitt – Michael's not going anywhere. He's going to heal, and he'll be back in the saddle in no time. You'll see."

Once again, there was a very long pause. "He left me." Kitt didn't exactly whisper, but his voice was full of hurt and confusion. "He left."

Bonnie sighed and leaned against the hood, trying to comfort Kitt the only way she knew how. "Kitt – he came back. Do you know how hard that must have been for him? He came back for you." She swallowed hard, trying to say the words that would help Kitt but hurt her. "He would only do something like that for you."

"He's still holding on." Kitt said quietly. "I can feel his pulse through the comm. link."

"He'll keep holding on for you." Bonnie assured him.

Once again, the two of them fell into silence. Bonnie couldn't stop the hurt that knowing that Kitt was the only one Michael would fight so damn hard for brought. Kitt couldn't keep the fear completely at bay. Michael's heart had stopped once. What would happen if it stopped again? Would the doctors be able to bring him back a second time? He didn't know.

Michael's pulse was strong and steady, and he took solace in that.

"He'll fight for you too." he said suddenly.

Bonnie smiled. "Thanks Kitt."


	4. Circus Knight

**Circus Knight**

"Michael, jump!"

Kitt knew it was only the fear in his voice that made Michael obey as fast as he did, and even that wasn't fast enough. The bomb went off as soon as Kitt's front tires hit the ground, while Michael was still in the air. Kitt watched in horror as his driver and friend was engulfed in flames before slamming into the ground and rolling about ten feet away from Kitt. The Trans-Am gunned the engine and pulled up beside Michael's prone form just as the rest of the circus performers got there. Devon and Bonnie were already kneeling beside him. Devon was saying something that Kitt couldn't make out.

His scanners were focused solely on Michael, trying to get a decent view through all the people in his way so he could run a medical diagnosis. He knew Michael was alive. While there was enough all-around mayhem to alarm Kitt, no one was reacting in the way they would if there was any reason to suspect the man was dead. On the other hand, Michael could be seriously injured, and Kitt didn't know how bad it was! If only they would move!

"Michael, are you all right?" Bonnie was pleading, her eyes wide with shock and fear. Michael and Kitt had been expecting something like this. Apparently no one else was. "Say something!"

Slowly, Michael raised his head and gave Bonnie a half-hearted glare. "Did you have anything particular in mind?"

And Kitt sighed in relief.

Michael and Terri relaxed against his hood, and Kitt got them out of there while he still could. A medical scan revealed bruises and a few strained muscles, enough that Michael would be uncomfortable for a few days to come, if not a week. It could have been worse, and Kitt took solace that it wasn't.

Just another close call to add to their ever-growing list.


	5. Chariots of Gold

**Chariots of Gold**

"Kill Michael Knight."

Michael froze. Were they really planning on using Kitt against him? Didn't they know that Kitt's dominant program would prevent him from hurting Michael, much less killing him? His mind was working furiously. With Bonnie doing the reprogramming, anything was possible, he guessed. He knew so little about how Kitt was put together. In all honesty, he never thought he'd have to know.

Now he was kicking himself. How could he fail not to learn everything he could about his partner? Personality-wise, he had Kitt down. He knew what would piss the AI off and what would please him, what kind of music he liked, everything. Beyond that, he knew nothing. And he should have known everything he could, even if he didn't understand it all.

Should have, should have, should have.

"Kitt – you can't." Michael pleaded. He started to take a step back, but something stopped him.

It couldn't be described as a look. After all, Kitt was a car – he didn't have looks. When he was talking, he had tones that Michael could easily read. When he was silent, Michael often had to guess what was wrong. This time, though, something was different. Michael could feel it, a shift in his partner, and with sudden elation he recognized it.

Kitt was fighting back. So Michael fought for him.

"What does Kitt stand for?" he demanded, taking a step forward. Kitt's engine growled as he jerked forward, then slammed on the brakes at the last minute. Trying to stop himself. "It stands for Knight Industries Two Thousand. How could I know that if I wasn't your driver?" Forward again, and again the brakes engaged at the last possible moment. Kitt's prow was inches from his shins, and Michael didn't budge. Almost, _so close._

"Kill him, Kitt!" Deauville snapped. "You're programmed to only respond to me."

"That's right, Kitt." Bonnie intoned. Michael shot her a dirty look. Yes, he understood she was brainwashed at the moment, but still, she was making his job harder.

Kitt jerked again, fighting to both obey his new 'master' and also to preserve himself. Michael felt his heart break. If he lived through this, he vowed darkly, Deauville wouldn't. He would see the man dead for what he was doing to his partner.

"Kitt, you know me. We've worked together how long now? How much have we survived together?" Michael spoke quietly. Kitt slammed into reverse and backed up a distance, and Michael knew he was getting a running start. He still didn't move. "We are a team! You're my partner, my friend, and I won't let him use you against me!"

"I obey Graham Deauville." Kitt said softly.

Michael bit his lip. "Then you're going to have to kill me, Kitt." he whispered.

Once again, the engine growled, and once again, Michael found himself praying to whoever would listen that this would work.

Suddenly, the engine died, and there was silence in the parking lot. Michael held his breath.

"I can't hurt you, Michael. You know that."

He nodded, a relieved smile crossing his face. "I know, pal. I know."


	6. Knight Flight to Freedom

**Knight Flight to Freedom**

Kitt had been trying to hail Michael on the comm. link for days. There was no answer, and the longer he went without an answer, the more scared he got. Never mind that RC was supposed to be in the prison with Michael, helping him escape. RC was a nice man – and an excellent mechanic – but Michael was _Kitt's _to protect. It frightened him to leave such a precious person in the hands of another, even if they were capable hands.

Once again Kitt reached through the comm. link, and once again he found nothing but unfamiliar vitals. Kitt had no idea what was going on in the prison, and after overhearing Lisa say something about a firing squad to one of her fellow rebels –

Well, let's just say that Kitt didn't deal well with not only not knowing what was happening to Michael, but also knowing that he was in some kind of danger as well. He almost lost it then and there, almost abandoned the rebels to their fate and went _after Michael._ That was what he wanted to do, what he still wanted to do.

There was so much Kitt wanted to say to Michael, so many things his driver needed to know. Life couldn't get cut short for them now, not after everything they had survived together.

It was a long list of things they had survived – close encounters for both of them that only served to make them rely on each other more. And Kitt had no idea just how much he needed Michael, and how much of that need was _not programming_, until Michael wasn't there anymore.

Like now.

Once again he checked the comm. link, and once again he screamed inside his CPU in frustration.

Michael was not dead yet. Kitt held on to that. It was all he had.

/---/

"They took my comm. link!" Michael groused. "I can't even contact Kitt."

And that was the true problem, wasn't it? Michael _didn't care_ that he was trapped in prison, or even condemned to death. He had faced worse than this before and survived. He had walked away from death before – probably laughing the entire time, to hear Kitt tell it.

But then he'd had _Kitt_ with him. His partner, his friend – the one who would never let him give up. Michael never realized just how dependent he was on Kitt until the AI was no longer there. Then he was all too aware of his own vulnerability, and Kitt's. What if Kitt hadn't gotten out of the capitol? Who would protect him if he was caught? Michael was the only one Kitt had. RC still thought of Kitt as nothing more than a cool set of wheels, and Devon and Bonnie were so very far away.

Silly thoughts, really. Michael knew Kitt was safe for the moment. He was pretty sure there was no Spanish translation for "sarcastic Trans-Am".

There were things that needed to be said, things that Michael should have told Kitt a long time ago. But Michael was never good at expressing himself. Sometimes he wondered if Kitt already knew, but he couldn't run the risk that he didn't.

So when RC saved him from the firing squad, the first thing Michael did was get back his comm. link. He probably hit the guard a little harder than absolutely necessary, but he couldn't deny it felt good. "Kitt?"

"_Michael!"_ And that one word, the way Kitt seemed to relax at hearing his voice, said everything.

They were okay. Michael found comfort in that.

/---/

An: I'm not sure if I like this one or not, so be gentle with me. If there's any part of it that bothers you, just let me know. This particular episode was late in season 4, so I figure that Kitt and Michael would have figured a few things out by then. Review, please!


End file.
